I had an idea for survivors and I was curious what other people thought about it, especially the Wargames Factory modeling team.

My idea would be the 'Adolescence' age group. So you have jocks, cheerleaders, nerds, groupies and maybe even a few children thrown into the mix too. This would help add 'new' age group to the two boxes that already exist in the survivors group. It was just an idea I had but it would be awesome, as well as add some new possibilities for conversions for the other survivor boxes.

We could RP “Warm Bodies” if WGF made this set. Sorry I couldn't resist, it might be a good idea but we should take into account the overload of ideas. Is it an idea that you would want more than one box of?

Interesting but perhaps a more appropriate set would be survivors 6-months or a year into the apocalypse. The current ones are based on what we thought people would look like about a week in. Of course it's very difficult to capture the look of despair and dirty rankness that someone who hasn't had running water or a hot meal for weeks would convey. Having lived off the land for a short period of time I can tell you it's no picnic (except for the first couple of days when you actually have food and water then it's not unlike a picnic). When the groceries run out then you find out what you're made of and I can't even imagine throwing zombies or aliens or roving gangs or killer robots or demons into the mix.

Lonnie MullinsFormer Director of Product Development, Research and DesignWargames Factory

Still... you can distress the existing models pretty well just with paintwork. Stains, stubble, abrasions, worn patches on clothing (and indeed, actual patches). If you get in with putty, knife, drill and files you can fairly easily rip up clothes and mess up hair.

I maybe just a devils advocate here, but you will have groups in an apocalypse like in the Walking Dead, however I am sure in some areas you would have areas of the world where a civilized group emerged and created a new community or something. sure some of those organizations would become like the Governor but I think you could get an emerging community or nation like in Revolution. It just depends on the situation, choices, force, and the number of zombies. However this is just me being the devils advocate.

Super_Dude911 wrote:I maybe just a devils advocate here, but you will have groups in an apocalypse like in the Walking Dead, however I am sure in some areas you would have areas of the world where a civilized group emerged and created a new community or something. sure some of those organizations would become like the Governor but I think you could get an emerging community or nation like in Revolution. It just depends on the situation, choices, force, and the number of zombies. However this is just me being the devils advocate.

Why limit ourselves, you guys should read an over view of "Advance Wars: Days of Ruin." It had roving armies, remnant nations, lots of politics, an evil cult,a Mad science army made of clones and robots, and grand scale battles. If you where to add in aliens, zombies, and eldritch abominations you might have something akin to a another company's war game lines except set in the apocalypses.

It'll still take some time for such a group to start looking much different to contemporary people. They may well be uniformed, or militarised, though. Clothing is one of the non-perishable consumables that can probably be looted for years by the rag-tag survivors, and which has little attraction for Zombies and Robots, or most Demons and Aliens. A small tourist store alone would have enough t-shirts and caps to supply dozens of people for months, let alone a mall or actual clothing shop.

So while you'll get a lot of mismatched items and a lot of dirty ones (especially stains), I think the regular models will probably do for 6 months in. I would expect the 6 month crowd to be harder and (ironically) maybe better equipped, as weaker people die and useful gear is hoarded. Maybe less guns. Maybe. But if you find a good machete or axe, that's going to be kept by the group. Oh yeah... Lonnie if you ever retool 'em (and I know it'll be a pretty low priority), a few less chainsaws and a few axes and revolvers would be nice. Plus the open right hands I usually go on about

The strength of the Dark Futures kits to me is precisely that they do look just like current people (although some are a bit deader). If it shades to "near future" with techy gear, it loses some of that quality. Likewise if we're talking Mad Max or tribes in furs.

Of course that does NOT preclude techy gear looted from aliens, robots, demons, etc. But that's more of a matter of using parts from any kits of those guys.

bvandewalker wrote:You for got to add in wash day, people can always go back to washing clothes in rivers and stuff, sanitation would be important to survivors.

There is a way to recycling bullets shells, it might be come someones job to just recycle used shells. so firearms would probably still be common but bow and arrow hunting might make a big come back.

I always like bows and crossbows in the zombie setting because compared to guns they are stealth weapons. I don't know if zombies are smart enough to trace a projectiles trajectory back to its point of origin. With bangs and muzzle flashes your making the zombies job easier.

Reloading ammunition is not difficult. My brother and I do it all the time. Not sure it would always be convenient in the zombie era to collect your brass.

On a side note, how long to zombies stay animated? Does it take days, weeks, or months for the brain and muscle tissue of an animated corpse to decay to a point that it is unable to function? Or is there a function of the zombie virus that preserves it’s host longer than is natural?

Assuming that 85 to 90% of the world’s population succumbs to the plague in a relatively rapid fashion I assume the 10 to 15% of survivors would be able to find secluded refuge and wait out the zombie apocalypse.

If faced with survival in a zombie apocalypse scenario. I would collect as many supplies as possible and hijack a tanker ship and stay at sea for months until the dead stop walking. Just saying.

You need to look at World War Z, the book not the (in my opinion) horrible film. Using WWZ as canon, zombies do not rot, they "wear away". No organism attacks the infected to help break them down after death and the virus keeps them mobile until the tissues break down from everyday wear and tear. They don't smell and also excrete a protective substance from the skin glands to help keep them somewhat protected from the elements. Zombies can stay dormant for long periods of time but are attracted to movement and especially sound. They also freeze in very cold weather. So, a single zombie can last for several years, especially if it lies dormant.

Lonnie MullinsFormer Director of Product Development, Research and DesignWargames Factory